Читать книгу Bad Boys, Bad Times. The Cleveland Indians and Baseball in the Prewar Years, 1937–1941 онлайн

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Vitt hustled his way through seven full seasons for Detroit. His finest year was 1915, when he had career highs in just about every hitting category. On the defensive side, he led all American League third basemen in putouts and assists. All was not a bed of roses playing for Detroit, though. He had the unwelcome distinction of taking a Walter Johnson fastball squarely between the eyes. Vitt crumpled to the ground and lay unconscious for several minutes. He slowly opened his eyes, glad to be back among the living. Teammate Donie Bush stood above him, kicking Vitt in the legs and yelling at him to get up and quit his stalling. Sympathy was not a quality common among rough-and-tumble ballplayers in the early part of the twentieth century.

After ten years in the American League, the last three with Boston, Vitt signed on with Salt Lake City. He played two more years before putting away his glove and starting on his long managerial career. From 1926 through 1934 he ran the Hollywood Stars, winning a minor league pennant in 1930. He managed Oakland in 1935, then moved all the way across the country to pilot the Newark Bears of the International League. He had tremendous success there, winning the 1937 pennant by a staggering twenty-seven and a half games. The Bears topped off the regular season by winning the Little World Series against the Columbus Redbirds. Vitt got the attention of Major League owners, particularly Alva Bradley. He liked everything about Vitt, especially his managerial motto, “Win everything in sight and never stop winning.”